Apparatus for separating fibers from other materials.



P. H. MINGK & E. 0. DB SBGUNDO.

APPARATUS FOR SBPARATING FIBERS FROM OTHER MATERIALS.

' APPLICATION FILED MAR. 9, 1908.

1,089,661 Patented .Mar. 10, 1914,

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

COLUMBIA pLANoCR/mu CO ,WASIHNGTON, n. c,

P. H. MINOK & B. 0. DE SEGUNDO.

APPARATUS FOR SBPARATING FIBERS FROM OTHER MATERIALS.

APPLIOA'IION FILED MAE. 9, 1908.

1,089,66 1 Patented Mar. 10, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

I I WITNESSES COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH CO-IWASHINGTON. D. c.

lUNTTED STATES PATEN T OFFTGE.

PAUL HERMANN MINCK, 0F BREMEN, GERMANY, AND

EDWARD CARSTENSEN DE SEGUNDO, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING FIBERS FROM OTHER MATERIALS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented liIar. 10, 191 1.

Application filed March 9, 1908. Serial No. 419,942.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, PAUL HERMANN M NoK, a subject of the German Emperor, residing at 17 Altmannstrasse, Bremen, in the German Empire, manufacturer, and EDWARD CAR-STENSEN DE SEGUNDO, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at 231 Dashwood House, New Broad street, in the city of London, England, consulting engineer, have jointly invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Separating Fibers from other Materials, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to apparatus for separating fibers from other materials such as seeds, knots, dirt or the like, and more particularly for separating fibers from the hulls of decorticated cotton seeds. It has been proposed to effect this by beating the raw material fed into a chamber or drum, by means of revolving beaters, sepa-ating the fibers from the remainder by a current of air which is drawn in with the raw material by the action of the heaters, and conveys the separated fiber from the drum into a suitable receiver.

The present invention consists in an improved apparatus of this class which is cha ttCfQ-llZQCl by the fact that the raw material is fed into the closed drum near the periphery thereof and in such manner as to preclude as far as possible the entrance of air, while the air is drawn by means of a suitable fan into the drum through perforations in the bottom thereof and leaves it by a central tube at the top of the drum. The result of this construction is that the air currents by which the separation is effected must traverse the full length of the drum before they pass to the outlet pipe, and further, since the air and with it the separated fibers, is drawn upward from the sides of the drum toward the center while the shells or hull-remains separated from the fiber are driven by centrifugal action toward the sides, being too heavy to be influenced to any appreciable extent by the inwardly converging currents, there will therefore be little or no interference with the free discharge of the separated fibers, and consequently the separation is rapidly and efficiently accomplished. This principle of action, which is characteristic of the in1- proved apparatus, together with other fea tures of the present invention, will be readily understood by reference to Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings, which shows a diagrammatic vertical section of one construction of the improved apparatus, Fig. 2 being a vertical section of a slightly modified apparatus, and Fig. 3 a detail hereinafter referred to.

Referring chiefly to Fig. 1 into the drum 0; extends the-suitably journaled and suitably driven vertical shaft 6 carrying a nave c to which are fixed the beater arms (Z ar ranged on a helical line. These boaters may be set either to retard or accelerate the progress of the material downwardly through the drum, or some of the boaters may be set one way and some the other way. The cover of the drum has a central conical extension f terminating in a pipe g in which or in communication with which is a fan, not shown in the drawing, for drawing air through the perforated sides 71, of a conical chute below the drum, and the peripherally perforated bot-tom z of the latter, as indicated by the arrows. To prevent accumulation of separated fibers on the top of the nave c and also to prevent eddies and increase or maintain the velocity of the air currents on their passage through the top of the drum, the nave 0 may be surmounted by a cone is. The feeding device consists of a hopper Z having a spiral conveyor m which fits the hopper casing tightly as possible. The worm m feeds the material. into the drum through the cover 6 at its periphery.

In the construction of Fig. 2 the raw material is fed by suitable means not shown in the drawing, such as a screw conveyer, into the pipe a, whence it passes into a horizontal cylindrical casing 0 in which is fitted a rotatable feeder p which has a plurality of radial blades 7) extending from the shaft to the wall of the casing, these blades dividing the easing into a number of compart ments in such manner that for any position of the feeder the inlet pipe at is completely shut off from communication with the delivery pipe 9 thereby precluding the passage of currents of air either into or out of the separating chamber or drum a through the pipe The separating chamber 1s preferably annular in form, as shown, the inner wall being provided with suitable bearings for the vertical driving shaft 6 on which is secured an annular nave 0 having radial beaters (Z.

The peripheral holes or slits z" in the bottom of the drum, through which the air is drawn by the fan and through which also the shells or hull-remains are discharged on to an inclined platform formed on or secured to the supporting standard or framework of the apparatus, by which they are directed into any suitable collecting receptacles, are preferably formed as shown in Fig. 3 by punching out and bending downwardly, but without separating from the integral part of the floor, portions of the sheet metal composing the fioor of the drum so as to form a downwardly inclined lip on the farther side of the holes or slits with respect to the direction of movement of the heaters. It will be noted by reference to the drawings that the ends of the beaters are spaced from the walls of the drum, and as a result the hulls will be threshed, but not ground. The prevention of the grinding action is an important feature, in that while the hulls may be broken in the threshing action, they will not be ground to a powder, and therefore the fiber and hulls will separate, wher as such separation would not be as effective if the hulls were reduced to a powder. It is found that witn this construction of outlet for the shells and inlet for the air, the outlets do not become blocked by a mass of hull-remains projected centrifugally into the opening and lurtner the final separation of any adhering fibers is effectively accomplished by the inrushing stream of air encountering the shells as they drop over outer edge of the holes on to the inner lip thereof.

In operation the material is caught by the heaters as it enters the drum and is opened out by them so as to enable the fibers to be carried off by the ascending air currents, while the specifically heavier portions, such as the seed cases or shells, fall finally to the bottom of the drum and are discharged as before described after being subjected to a final scouring by the an currents entering the holes a or 6.

Instead of completing the separation of the fibers in a single drum as hereinbefore described, the process may be carried out in stages in a number of similar drums through which the hulls are passed in series, and these drums in be fitted with floors perforated as shown or may be left more or less the open at the bottom. By this means a classification or grading of the separated fibers may be obtained.

Having thus described the nature of this invention and the best means we know of carryingthe same into practical effect, we claim 1. In apparatus for defibrating cotton seed hulls, the combination with an upright casing having a bottom, provided with marginal openings that constitute air inlets and outlets for the discharge of defibrated hulls, of a vertical shaft extending through the bottom into the casing and terminating short of its upper end, rotary threshing heaters connected to the shaft and operating in the casing, said upper end of the casin having a central tapered unobstructed uptake, and means connected to the uptake for creating an outward blast of air therethrough sufficient to produce indrafts thr ugh the bottom openings, which indrafts are, however, suliiciently weak to permit the outflow of the defibrated hulls.

2. In apparatus for defibrating cotton seed hulls, the combination with a substantially vertical casing having a bottom provided in its marginal portions with a plu rality of outlet openings and downwardly inclined lips extending beneath said openings, said casing having a tapered top and a central wholly unobstructed uptake, of a vertical shaft extending through the bottom of the casing and terminating short of said upta re, rotary heaters connected to the shaft and operating in the casing, means for creating an uptake of air through the casing and means for feeding hulls to be defibrated into said casing and substantially preventing the ingress of air through said feeding means.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

PAUL HERMANN llllNCK.

EDWARD CAR TECSEN DE SEGUNDO.

'Vitnesses to the signature of Paul Hermann Minsk: Vroron Nnwrsorr l-lnrs'nnarann,

JOHANN KLAUF.

\ Witnesses to the signature of Edward Car- 1 stensen de Segundo: l

ALLAN lfaoFAnLANn, PAUL H. CRAM.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Eatents,

Washington, D. C. 

